MY Lake
by elfblossoms
Summary: Zuko decides to train by a lake, but when he discovers Katara already practicing her waterbending, and screaming 'THIS IS MY LAKE', what'll happen?


**MY Lake**

**By: lollipopkid/night-faery**

**Couples: Zutara, Taang**

**Second ATLA story; hope it's up to standards! **

Summary: Zuko decides to train by a lake, but when he discovers Katara already practicing her waterbending, and screaming 'THIS IS MY LAKE', what'll happen?

DISCLAIMER: I don't own ATLA, because if I did, Zutara and Taang would be canon.

Ever since joining the Gaang, Zuko felt on the outs. Of course, no one trusted him, except Momo, but the lemur didn't count in Zuko's books, since he was just that, a lemur. After one day's firebending lesson with Aang, Zuko finally decided to take out his broadswords.

"Wow Zuko! Those are so shiny! Mind if I borrow 'em sometime?" Sokka asked, running a finger down the side of the blade, before Zuko sheathed it quickly, and Sokka withdrew his finger.

"No. You can't borrow them. I'm off to train." Zuko left abruptly, walking through the forest towards the lake that Katara and Aang used for waterbending practice. Besides the excuse that he wanted to train, frankly Zuko thought he was starting to smell. And princes, banished or not, do NOT smell.

Upon reaching the lake, Zuko removed his shirt and unsheathed the broadswords. Gently setting them on the ground, he turned to the lake. Cupping his hands, and setting them in the water, he splashed his face, and stood up, only to face a very angry waterbender.

"ZUKO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY LAKE?" Katara yelled, as she swam closer to shore, and began summoning the octopus form.

"I was just going to practice my broadswords, then have a bath, but then you have to start yelling at me!"

"Really? But I announced earlier that I'd be bathing in MY lake, and not to disturb me!"

"I must've missed the announcement peasant."

"DROP IT."

"Drop what, I'm not holding anything!"

"I'M NOT A PEASANT! I'M PRACTICALLY A PRINCESS SINCE MY FATHER'S THE CHIEF OF THE SOUTHERN WATER TRIBE!"

"WHICH IS JUST A BUNCH OF HUTS ON A HUNK OF ICE!"

"THANKS TO THE FIRE NATION!" With that, Katara lashed out with one of her octopus tentacles, hitting Zuko across the face. With that, he growled and picked up his swords. Using the new tactic he wanted to practice, he bent fire along the edges of the sword, cutting the octopus tentacle that came lashing out at him. He charged into the shallows, heating the water to a boiling point.

"AH!" Katara screamed, as her water burned her slightly, and Zuko smirked.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

"Aren't we fighting?" he smirked, and extinguished the flames and twirled his swords as he walked backwards onto dry land. Katara, her long brown hair plastered to her back, strode purposely towards him summoning a lot of the water from the lake into a wave behind her, her eyes flashing. Zuko paled.

"Katara, I wasn't peeping or anything, why the hostility?"

"You said it yourself, aren't we fighting?" she smirked maliciously, giving Zuko a strange vision of Azula…

Back at camp, Toph was picking her toes when she felt strange vibrations.

"Looks like they're at it again." The blind girl sighed, and picked out a nasty bit of dirt, and what might have been a baby frog-bird corpse, from in between her toes. It'd been a while since she'd last cleaned her feet.

"Who? Katara and Zuko?" Sokka took a break from making out with Suki to listen in. He was always interested in whatever was going on in his sister's life, especially if it involved boys. Especially bad-boys-gone-good-who-may-or-may-not-be-harbouring-secret-feelings-for-said-sister.

"Yup. But this time they're bending. And oooh, Sparky's in trouble." Toph laughed, while Aang looked worried. He'd almost lost Katara to Jet; he wouldn't lose her to Zuko.

"Should we go check on them?" the Avatar asked nervously, already reaching for his staff.

"Nah, they'll be fine." Toph shrugged it off, and helped herself to another berry from the bowl that Momo held atop her head.

Meanwhile, Zuko was getting thrashed. Water was shooting at him from all directions, and he couldn't see.

"MY LAKE Zuko. Can't you see? It loves me, and we work together." Katara laughed, and the water whooshed up, and pinned him to a tree.

"How…reminiscent. Last time it was I who tied you to a tree." Zuko laughed, as he heated his body temperature, and slid down the ice straight towards Katara. Building up speed, he hooked his hands around her waist, and pinned her to a tree.

"What is it about us and trees?" Katara asked quietly, taking notice of Zuko's lack of shirt, and turning red at their closeness. He laughed quietly and held her wrists at his shoulder height.

"I'll save you from the pirates." He murmured against her ear.

"What pirates?" she breathed. He smirked, and released one wrist to point at a tree.

"That one." The two benders laughed, then Zuko had her pinned against the tree.

"I win." He pronounced smugly. "I get my practice time, and access to the lake."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. Seeing as I've got you pinned…" he trailed off, smirking.

"Again, oh really?" Katara's eyes acquired a devious glint, and she craned her neck up to kiss Zuko on the lips. His eyes fluttered closed, and he released her wrists, and opted for her waist. Tilting her head, giving him better access, Katara pushed them down, deepening the kiss as they went down. Pulling away, she smirked.

"Now who has who pinned?" she asked, and bent water so that his hands and legs were stuck to the ground by ice. She picked herself up off him, smirking, gathered her things and gave a hair flip and sauntered away.

"Why do I love her again?" Zuko questioned himself as he freed his arms and legs from the offending ice.

When Zuko arrived back at camp, after completing his original goal of training, along with a bath, he found Katara making dinner, Toph and Aang training, and Sokka and Suki nowhere to be found.

"Hey Sparky! Where've you been?" Toph asked, as she bent a chair for him to sit on.

"In Katara's lake." He smiled, and Katara gave a burst of laughter, while Aang just looked confused.

"But, Katara doesn't own a lake!" the young Avatar protested.

By the end of that summer, Aang had defeated Fire Lord Ozai, Mai and Zuko had broken up, Aang and Katara realized that there was nothing between them, but Toph and Aang realized there was something between them, and Zuko and Katara had finally gotten together. After being crowned Fire Lord, Zuko found the lake that he and his Fire Lady had first kissed. The lake was named 'Katara's Lake' in honour of the Waterbending Fire Lady.

THE END


End file.
